A Study on the Performativity Expansion of VR Immersive Theater ; Focusing on ‘technology-audience-actor’ of The Under Presents: Tempest(2020)

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Kim, Hanju and Soyoug Kim (2026) “A Study on the Performativity Expansion of VR Immersive Theater ; Focusing on ‘technology-audience-actor’ of The Under Presents: Tempest(2020)”

http://dx.doi.org/10.21299/jovc.2026.48.3

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ABSTRACT

Technological advances have expanded performers’ and audiences’ actions, spawning immersive theatre as a new creative paradigm. This form leverages VR technology, where virtual-space collaboration between audiences and performers shapes the content. Thus, theatre as an artistic field demands moving beyond human-technology dichotomies toward examining their co-evolution. This study analyzes the VR immersive production The Under Presents: Tempest(2020), using Erika Fischer-Lichte’s performativity concept of the “feedback-schleief” to map performative actions in the “technology–audience-actor” triad. As audiences shift from passive observers to active participants, the dismantling of the fourth wall aligns with strategies such as role reversal, community formation, and embodied contact. This shift prompts a reassessment of the “technology–audience–actor” constellation and opens avenues for examining co-evolutionary dynamics between humans and technological systems.